COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The congregation clapped and yelled as the Rev. Darrell Jackson exhorted them to expect good news.

	Martha Rial, Post-Gazette Sen. John Edwards, center, checks over his speech and where he should stand before taking stage at the College of Charleston while campaigning yesterday in South Carolina. Click photo for larger image.

Whispering, then shouting, microphone in hand, Jackson strode back and forth on an altar flanked by banners reading, "A Year of Possibilities.''

In a strong, rising voice, he assured the throng , "Some of you are so close to your blessings.''

The congregation was now on its feet.

"So close!''

"So close!'' came the echo from hundreds of voices.

"I can TASTE it.''

"I can taste, it,'' the rapturous crowd resounded.

For at least one of them, that promise could be fulfilled in a prosaic but public way before today is over. Seated in the front row of the Bible Way Church of Atlas Road on Sunday was North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who is pinning his hopes of sustaining his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination on the votes of his neighbors here in the state of his birth.

Hoping to prevail in South Carolina, Edwards and the other leading candidates have ardently courted the votes of African-Americans, such as those who make up this predominately black congregation that meets in a large handsome building south of Columbia's downtown. And the latest polls put Edwards ahead of his Senate colleague, John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, in a state Edwards acknowledges he must win to remain in the Democratic race.

In a reception room down a corridor from the sanctuary, Edwards, his voice raspy from days of non-stop campaigning, later preached a secular sermon to members of the congregation.

Martha Rial, Post-Gazette Rev. Al Sharpton stands in front of the former slave market in Charleston, now a museum, before beginning his final day of campaigning in South Carolina. Click photo for larger image.

"President Kennedy said that on this Earth, God's work must truly be our own,'' he said. "Brothers and sisters, we have a lot of work to do.''

In a riff from his standard stump speech, Edwards bemoaned the fact that "this is an America, still divided by race... this is something I feel an enormous personal responsibility about...this is not an African-American issue; this is an American issue.''

His words were welcomed by April S. Morgan, a mental health counselor from Columbia who listened 15 feet from the low platform where Edwards stood.

"I thought he was wonderful,'' she said. "I was impressed by what he said about our two nations, on health care, race and some of the other issues.''

South Carolina's population is about 30 percent African-American. There is no party registration in the state, but blacks account for somewhere between 40 percent and 50 percent of the voters who identify themselves as Democrats.

Since early 2003, operatives for most of the Democratic campaigns have worked the state seeking support in the black community.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, the New York activist, has spent more time in the state than any other candidate. Edwards, former Vermont Gov. Howard B. Dean and retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark have cultivated black politicians, clergy and community leaders. Dean campaigned here with Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., of Illinois, whose father won South Carolina's Democratic primary in 1988. Clark toured with Rep. Charles B. Rangel, of New York.

Conspicuously absent has been Kerry. Concentrating on Iowa and New Hampshire, Kerry hadn't been in the state for more than four months when he showed up the day after his victory in New Hampshire. But he has, by all accounts, made up ground quickly.

Last week, Kerry picked up the imprimatur of the most respected African-American politician in the state, Rep. James Clyburn. And Clyburn leapt to his defense when rivals harried the senator about a 1992 speech in which he voiced reservations about some aspects of affirmative action.

Kerry's campaign also has been running a dramatic television commercial in which an African-American former crewmate in Vietnam, the Rev. David Alston, extols Kerry's leadership.

Some Kerry critics questioned his victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, saying those states were too white and insufficiently urban to provide a full test of Kerry's strength with Democratic voters across the country. Edwards, in particular, for obvious reasons of geography, looked forward to the nomination battle turning toward the south.

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Edwards opened the final week of his campaign for South Carolina with a rally at South Carolina State University, a historically black school in Orangeburg.

"Edwards has portrayed himself as a son of the South, and of South Carolina, and that makes some difference,'' said Dr. Todd Shaw, a faculty member of the University of South Carolina and an expert on African-American voting performance. "But I'd go a step further. He projects a kind of Clintonesque feeling. I think that resonates with some black voters. He may not be seen as the second coming for Bill Clinton, but he's certainly taken a page out of his playbook.''

If the North Carolina senator does prevail here, however, polls suggest it may not be due to his appeal among black voters. A tracking poll of South Carolina Democrats over the past few days shows Kerry leading among black voters, while Edwards enjoys a similar advantage among white voters, particularly the independents who will be permitted to cast ballots in the Democratic contest today.

According to the Reuters/MSNBC/Zogby survey, Kerry had the support of 28 percent of African-American voters, Edwards followed with 24 percent and Sharpton trailed with 12 percent. Edwards, on the other hand, had a clear lead among whites, with 35 percent support versus 23 percent for Kerry. They were followed by 10 percent each for Clark and Dean.

Overall, according to the Zogby poll, Edwards leads Kerry in South Carolina 30 percent to 25 percent. Other surveys depict Edwards with a slightly larger lead, with the latest CNN/Los Angeles Times poll putting Edwards margin over Kerry at 12 percentage points (32 to 20).

Zogby polls in the other large states voting today do not show a similar racial divergence in Kerry's support compared to that of his chief rivals.

In Missouri, for example, the Massachusetts senator is well ahead with both white and black voters. In Oklahoma, he and Clark appear to be nearly tied among both white and black voters.

Sharpton, who is expected to do well here, does not hold out hope that he will win today, but he argues that voting for him would have more than symbolic value.

"I'm the only one running you can't lose with,'' he told a crowd at the predominantly black college last week. "Even if I don't win the nomination, if we have delegates in Boston, they are going to have to deal with our agenda.''

The Zogby survey put Sharpton's support at just 7 percent over the weekend. Clyburn thinks he may do better than that, winning as much as 15 to 20 percent of the Democrats.